WP6-Brochure-E4 brochure - ELA European Lift Association.

14 Check usage and optimisation of counter‐balancing
A counter‐balance reduces the load the lift drive system has to move when the lift is running.
This allows the use of smaller motors and less energy is required to operate the system.
Often a counter‐balance has the same mass as a lift car plus half of the nominal load.
Therefore, it requires less energy when the lift is carrying half of the payload. In practice, lifts
often travel empty to their destination floors, or they transport only a small number of
passengers, thus the actual average load is below 50% 6 . Adjusting the mass of the counterweight
can thus be an option to reduce the average motor load and to reduce energy
requirements.
Recommendation: consider using a counter‐weight to reduce the load the drive system has to
lift and optimise it in accordance with the actual usage requirements.
Relevance: especially relevant for new installations but also for (larger) retrofits.
15 Reducing the mass of the car
In systems without a counter‐weight, the motor has to lift both the weight of the cabin as well
as the additional payload. Therefore, the reduction in cabin weight, by using for example light
weight materials, can increase energy efficiency, provided that both stability and safety remain
unaffected. In addition, a reduced mass can decrease energy demand for acceleration and
deceleration, also in systems with a counter‐weight.
Recommendation: check benefits of using a car with reduced mass.
Relevance: especially relevant for new installations and (larger) retrofits that are often used
and that do not have a counter‐weight.
Table 7‐6. Energy efficiency: Lift auxiliary equipment
Design of ancillary lift equipment
16 Use energy‐efficient lighting & appropriate surface material
Lighting can be one of the most important energy consumers in a lift, especially when it is
burning 24 hours a day. Reducing the required lighting power is thus an important option to
increase energy efficiency. Modern lighting technology like compact fluorescent lamps or LED
technology can reduce energy consumption (see Chapter 3).
Avoiding dark surface materials and textures in the car interior can also contribute to reducing
the energy consumption required by lighting.
Recommendation: the most energy‐efficient solution for permanently running lighting is to use
LED lighting. Using energy‐efficient lighting and switching it off is a complementary solution
(see also item 22).
Relevance: very relevant for new installations and also for minor retrofits. A replacement of
the lighting equipment can also be easily accomplished in existing installations. This measure is
estimated to be very cost‐effective.
6
Cf. the assumed load collective used in Nipkow 2005, Brzoza‐Brzezina 2008.
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